DIY Tile Project

Hope your holiday was great everyone – Today’s post is about our DIY Tile Project. We are still working in the Master Bathroom as we make our way to our DIY Tile Project. We finished up our other 4 posts in the master bathroom with Storage, board & Batten wainscoting (featured on Bob Vila Nation), framing the mirror and our magazine rack (featured on Bob Vila Nation). We are completing part V of the bathroom makeover by showing you how tiling a vanity back-splash can change the whole feel to your room.

We purchased Daltile 3 in x 12 in Snow Illusion Decorative Accent tile that is timeless, gives that cottage feel we were going for, and the best part – our readers helped us choose the tile! We started by finishing our board & batten wainscoting by bringing it around the sink area to tie all the walls into together in our master bath. After we framed the mirror, we wanted to add a pop with some tile, so we came to our readers and asked your opinion on a tile choice that could help give the vanity that subtle pop we were looking to achieve. We gave you two tile choices, and the small mosaic grey/white/dark grey won with an over whelming 89%. Thank you all who stopped by our Facebook page to join in on the voting fun. Once we had our tile choice we got to work gathering what we needed to complete the job.

Project time:

Our DIY Tile Project is a moderate skill level, took us a weekend to complete (due to dry time), and cost us about $75.00.

First we figured out the pattern on the back-splash area of how we wanted to lay out the DIY tile project. We drew our lines using a black sharpie marker to cut our tiles. We then cleaned and prepped the areas were we tiled.

Next, we cut the tile pieces (this is our first tile job, and we do not have a saw for this job so we cut them with the help of our good friends at Lowe’s). Once the pieces were cut, we refitted the pieces and marked the backs with a number pattern to remember where we wanted them.

Then we buttered the back of each tile with the Thin set product we purchase from Lowe’s and set the tiles directly to the back-splash – we started behind the sink faucets first so we could set the first row of tiles.

Once we set this row, we cut the extra tiles down the middle into rows of two’s and added the pieces above the first set of tiles we installed.

When we finished the back wall area, we moved to the right side and then the left side of the vanity, installing each set of Tile the same way. (Note: We made sure to use spacers to give the bottom of the tiles the space we needed to fit in the seal at the bottom to prevent water from absorbing under the tiles. And we cleaned our grout free of Thin Set to make sure it did not dry on the tile overnight.)

The following day, we removed the spaces and grouted the tile with a Bright White simple grout purchased from Home Depot. We used an unsanded grout with our tile to prevent scratching. We applied the grout using a float made for our area size. Using a 45-degree angle, we applied the grout working it into the tiles, removing the excess grout with a damp sponge. We continued to clean until all the grout was gone, changing our water a couple times to make sure the grout would not stick in the sponge.

Our project came out just as we wanted. The new tile helped give that little amount of pop our master bathroom needed to bring part V to a close.

We hope you enjoyed out Master bathroom DIY tile project Part V of our Master bathroom makeover series. We will be wrapping up our series in a couple days to show you the whole bathroom and all we did in one post with all the finishing touches. Until then, happy DIY tile project! Post you soon and thanks for stopping by Hello I Live Here to read our posts.

2 Comments on DIY Tile Project

Sharon McDonald

January 31, 2014 at 4:23 pm (1 year ago)

Linda,
Why am I not suprised at all these great projects? I think you have truly found your niche! These are all just awesome ideas and very well explained. Your talent is inspiring and you really are gifted….I am so NOT suprised about that! Thanks for your time in doing this blog, you have given me an idea or 2 or 10. There is only one thing left to ask you…..Marry me! How else will I get all the cool stuff done that I want done at my own house? Keep up the great job and I will keep coming back every week to see what you have come up with. Sharon McDonald